| Summary: | Background: Any child with Down's syndrome does not develop in the same manner as normal child. Therefore, the child should not be viewed as being like everyone else. Developmental enamel defects in primary teeth have been found at least twice as frequently in disabled children as in control children. Down's syndrome consumed protein more than the recommended daily allowance compared to other disabled groups. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate developmental defects of enamel and their relations to nutrient intake among Down's syndrome children in comparison to normal children.
Materials and Methods: A sample consisted of fifty institutionalized Down's syndrome children (study group) and 50 normal children (control group) aged 7-10 years old. Enamel anomalies were assessed according to criteria of WHO (1997). The dietary history was assessed through the use of food frequency questionnaire. Nutrients analysis was achieved by using a special software program designed by Diab (2003). All data were analyzed using SPSS version 13.
Results: A higher percentage of children with enamel anomalies were recorded among study compared to control group. Demarcated opacities were the most distributed type in permanent teeth of the study group while diffuse opacities were the most distributed type among the control group. Most of nutrients showed weak negative non significant correlations with enamel defects (demarcated opacities, hypoplasia) of primary teeth in study and control groups (P> 0.05). Results revealed lower mean values of most of daily nutrients intake among the study group than the control group.
Conclusion: This study reports a higher percentage of Down's syndrome children with enamel anomalies compared to normal children which may explain a negative correlation with most of daily nutrients intake, this may indicates that those population in need of preventive dietary program.
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